The present invention relates to the electronic transfer of information, particularly intellectual property, over computer system networks. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a mechanism for implementing and controlling the negotiation and exchange of intellectual property electronically, for example over the Internet.
Intellectual property can be considered in terms of either its xe2x80x9cembodimentsxe2x80x9d or its xe2x80x9crepresentations.xe2x80x9d Generally, an embodiment of an intellectual property is the property itself, while a representation of the intellectual property can be data or metadata either describing or pointing to the property.
For example, intellectual properties such as real-time human communications, stored and forwarded messages, documents or collections, dynamic or persistent data structures and databases, interpretable scripts, source code, and partially or fully compiled programs and applications, as well as other intellectual properties generally referred to as xe2x80x9ccontent,xe2x80x9d are often described as an embodiment of the intellectual property. Embodiments of intellectual property can also be theoretical or abstract concepts that are exemplified or documented as a specific form of content.
Legal rights, contracts, agreements or other assertions can be embodied in the form of content, but are not the embodiment of the intellectual property itself. Instead, these are considered representations of the intellectual property. Some intellectual properties, such as a deed or title to a home, can be representations of physical or real properties.
Intellectual properties are becoming more and more central to the world economy. In an information economy, discrete or aggregate values are placed on intellectual properties, and the markets for general or specific applications of these properties are huge. For example, the software industry, which has embodiments of intellectual properties in software products and services, and representations of property rights in licenses, legal contracts and agreements, copyrights, trademarks and patents, currently has annual sales rates of over $135 billion per year.
Increasingly, the Internet (or World Wide Web) is the medium of transmission of intellectual properties such as software products and the like. The Internet uses the Internet Protocol to frame, route, and reassemble digital messages. The transaction of intellectual property is a general transfer of data and data communications over the Internet; intellectual property such as software is simply treated as a bit stream in Internet Protocol. On top of the Internet Protocol are specialized transport layer services, such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) or SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). Within these, many messages are encoded in markup languages such as XML (Extensible Markup Language), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) meta-markup language based on SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language).
With regard to the protection of intellectual property, the prior art takes a defensive posture that is focused on guarding the intellectual property against unauthorized access, duplication and use. Limitations are placed on the use and distribution of a piece of intellectual property, and various means are used to attempt to enforce these limitations. Oftentimes, the limitations can be easily circumvented, and so enforcement can be difficult and therefore is mostly ineffective.
In addition, while in some cases the prior art may take advantage of the Internet for delivery of intellectual property such as software, the prior art is still encumbered by more traditional mechanisms for conducting the legal and commercial aspects of intellectual property transactions. For example, purchase orders, terms and conditions, license agreements and the like must be negotiated, written, reviewed and approved. These more traditional mechanisms can cause delay in the delivery and use of the intellectual property by a purchaser or licensee, and delay in the receipt of payments or royalties due to a seller or licensor.
However, many proprietary computer systems and networks do not communicate using the Internet Protocol. What is needed is a method and/or system that allows for communications relating to intellectual property over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Internet Protocol. Also, a method and/or system is needed that satisfies the above need and that provides a mechanism to allow intellectual property transactions, including the proper negotiation and exchange of intellectual property, over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Internet Protocol. The present invention provides a novel solution to the above needs.
The present invention provides a method and system thereof that allows for communications relating to intellectual property over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Internet Protocol. Also, the method and system of the present invention provides a mechanism to allow intellectual property transactions, including the proper negotiation and exchange of intellectual property, over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Internet Protocol.
The present embodiment of the present invention can be used to assert information regarding the rights, responsibilities and other terms of use of intellectual property within an IP over IP framework over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Internet Protocol. The present invention also allows interrogation of that information and responds to those interrogations over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Internet Protocol. In addition, the present invention further allows for storage and transport of the intellectual property and the information regarding the rights, responsibilities and other terms of use of intellectual property over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Interned Protocol.
In one embodiment of the present invention a method and system thereof is disclosed for implementing and controlling the electronic distribution of intellectual property using Internet Protocol (e.g., an xe2x80x9cIP over IP enginexe2x80x9d). This method and system is well adapted for transacting intellectual property related transactions using the Internet protocol. In the present embodiment of the present invention, a method and system is disclosed that allows for conducting these same intellectual property transactions over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Internet Protocol.
In the present embodiment, IP to non-IP modules are used to provide IP to non-IP communication. In the present embodiment, an IP to non-IP Protocol gateway module is provided that acts as an interface for coupling to a computer system and/or network that does not communicate using the Internet Protocol.
In one embodiment, a message encapsulation and transportation module is described that allows for the encapsulation and transportation of communications over IP Protocols. In the present embodiment, XML messages are encapsulated and transported using the message encapsulation and transportation module.
The present invention also includes an IP to non-IP module that creates non-XML embodiments and representations. These non-XML representations are used to communicate with computer systems and networks that cannot process XML instructions and data.
In the present embodiment, a request for intellectual property is codified according to a markup language (e.g., Extensible Markup Language). The request is parsed into a multiplicity of objects, each object corresponding to a service to be performed to respond to the request. A service is performed to provide an electronic version of the intellectual property in response to the request, and a service is performed to provide an electronic version of terms for using the intellectual property. Thus, in accordance with the present embodiment of the present invention, software product and service orders are translated into deliverables that are transmitted over the computer system and/or network that does not communicate using the Internet Protocol.
Thus, the present invention provides a method and system that allows for communications relating to intellectual property over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Internet Protocol. Also, the method and system of the present invention provides a mechanism to allow intellectual property transactions, including the proper negotiation and exchange of intellectual property, over computer systems and networks that do not communicate using the Internet Protocol.
In its various embodiments, the services performed in accordance with the present invention include a registration service, an authorization key service, an authentication service, a dispatch service, and a digital license service. In other embodiments, a digital rights service or a digital feature format service can be performed.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments that are illustrated in the various drawing figures.